Control head packer



Oct; 22 1946. R. G. TAYLOR, JR, ET AL CONTROL HEAD PACKER Filed Dec. 51, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet l Q K 7 4 6 9 8 Z a M T a m 4 w w w w 1 p ii m M/r/-V/////////'// L I. H d WM m. 7 TW? .0 .6 N a f. MA L HHHHHCHEHHHU M M v M a 7 R. G. TAYLOR, JR, ET AL 2,409,812

CONTROL HEAD PACKER Filed Dec. 31, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 0 H E 879. 22 f luHUn F/a. 2A

INVENTORS. ADAM/0N0 ammo/am BY 00mm 5.1900650? W W f 3% Oct. 22, 1946.

R. G. TAYLOR,- JR, ET AL CONTROL HEAD PACKER Filed Dec. 51, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 V INVENTORS' mwon p a 54mm, we

BY 00/14 110 5. H 0::

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Patented Oct. 22, 1946 CONTROL HEAD PACKER Raymond G. Taylor, J1'., and Donald B. Hooser,

Dallas, Tex., assignors to The Guiberson Corporation, Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Delaware Application December 31, 1941, Serial No. 425,080

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to control head packers and constitutes an improvement over the type of control head packer shown in the patent to Albert liganger, Patent No. 2,227,912, issued January '7,

So far as we know, all control head packers heretofore invented have a mandrel which is provided with a shoulder or collar or the equivalent, and which acts as a part of the recovery means to lift the slip head when it is desired to remove the packer from the well. Obviously, such mandrels were expensive to manufacture, and if it were necessary to replace the mandrel, such as to provide a shorter or a longer mandrel to vary the amount of opening or the distance between the valve'and the valve seat of the control head. packer, such an exchange would be an expensive one, probably involving not only a new mandrel but many other parts. In fact, the construction of control head packers heretofore made has practically prohibited an exchange of parts to vary the extent of the opening of the control head valve. In our improved construction, our mandrel consists of a simple pipe having no recovery shoulder or the equivalent thereon. Instead, our recovery means does not form a part of the mandrel, but forms a part of the gudgeon coupling which is screwed to the mandrel. In order, therefore, to vary the amount of opening of the control head valve, it is only necessary to insert a new pipe of a different length from the one whicnis being replaced, and by selecting the proper length pipe, the extent of opening of the control head valve can be adjusted quickly and at minimum expense.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a mandrel having an unobstructed exterior, except for a retaining shoulder to limit the amount of expansion of the packing element for the valve itself.

Another object of the invention is to connect the recovery sleeve directly to the slip head so that said parts move as a unit, the recovery sleeve being directly connected and engaged when the mandrel is raised by a shoulder on the gudgeon coupling.

Still another object of the invention is to provide the gudgeon pin on the coupling detachably secured to the mandrel and to the well tubing.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved packing means corresponding to the sleeve packing element 23 of the said Pranger Patent 2,227,912 and providing'that packing element with reinforcements.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved control head packer which is simple in construction and extremely efficient in opera tion.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the detailed specification and claims which follow.

Referring to the drawings, in which the perfected embodiment of the invention is shown by way of illustration.

Figure 1 is a vertical elevational view of our improved packer, certain of the parts being shown in cross section and showing the relative position of the parts when the packer is being run into. the well.

Figure 1A is a similar view and constitutes a continuation of Figure 1, being the parts below what is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l, but showing the relative position of the parts when the packer is set in the well.

Figure 2A is a view similar to Figure 1A and showing the relative position of the parts, shown in Figure 1A, when the packer is set in the well.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view on the line l--4 of Figure 1A.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view on the line 66 of Figure 1, and

Figure 7. is a side-elevational view of the mandrel and the parts screwed on the upper and lower endsvof said mandrel.

The invention may be better understood by referring to the drawings in detail, in which a packer mandrel I is provided at its upper end with screw threads, to which is secured a coupling I6 which couples the mandrel to the flow line or tubing ll extending to the top of the well. The coupling 16 is provided with the valve 3 adapted to engage a valve seat It on the upper end of a sleeve I9.

A shoulder 20 is provided on the mandrel l and serves as a limit to the downward movement of the ring 5, which is slidable through a bore 2| of the sleeve 19 and which is adapted to seat on a shoulder 22 at the lower portion of the bore 2|, which shoulder 22 constitutes a valve seat. The ring 5 is slidable on the portion of the mandrel above the shoulder 29, and interposed between the lower portion of the coupling l6, and the upper surface of the ring .5 is an elastic sleeve packing element 4 provided with spaced apart. circumferentially extending steel rings [4, having in- -anchor cage l l 3 wardly extending feet I adapted to contact the outer surface of the mandrel. A packing corresponding to our elastic sleeve packing element 4 was shown in the said Pranger Patent 2,227,912, but without the reinforcing rings above mentioned. V i I When the packer is being set; as. will hereinafter be described, the ring 5 would first contact the shoulder 22 and further downward movement of the mandrel would compress the elastic sleeve packing element 4 so as to efiectively seal the bore 2|, and thereafter the valve 3 would contact the valve seat I8 so that we have a double valve and with a sleeve packing element between the'two valves.

The mandrel l below the shoulder is simply a plain piece of pipe which isscrew threaded at its lower end and receives a confined gudgeon coupling and recovery ring 2 provided with'a ,gudgeon pin [2 and with centering vanes 23. This gudgeon coupling 2 is screw threaded at its "sleeve and is provided at its lower end with a surface or shoulder 9, which is adapted to be contacted by the upper shoulder 8 of the gudgeon coupling, when the packer is being pulled out of the well, therebyelevating the slip head 6, so that the slips 1 are retracted in the well-known manner. The shoulder 8 is sometimes referred to in the claims as a recovery shoulder. The slips 1 are connected by reins to the anchor cage II, to which is secured the upper ends of springs 23, adapted to contact the inner surface of the easing 21. The lower ends of the springs 26 extend into slots 28 in bosses 29 on the lower portion of the anchor cage l l. Below the bosses '29 is the slot l3 having a valley 30 in' which the gudgeon pin 12 rests when the packer is being run into the well.

The recovery sleeve ii) is provided with a shoulder 3i underlying a shoulder 32 of the When the packer is being run inthe well and as the mandrel moves downwardly carrying the coupling 2 and gudgeon pin [2, the said pin engages the valley 30 of the cage H, pulling the said sleeve and springs 26 downwardly, and the shoulder 32 engaging the shoulder 3| moves the sleeve I0 and slip head 6 downwardly, all of the said parts moving as a unit. Since the slips 1 are connected to the cage II, it is impossible for the slips to engage the casing.

The sleeve 19 is threaded to a downwardly extending sleeve 33 provided with a shoulder 34 underlying a shoulder 35 of a sleeve 36 secured to the slip head 6 by means of bolts 31. A lower retaining ring 38 rests on the upper end of the sleeve 36 and is slidable on the sleeve 33. A casing packing element 39 is interposed between the lower portion of the sleeve [9 and the upper portion of the ring 38. The sleeve 36 is provided with openings or holes 40 extending from the interlorof the well casing below the casing packing element 39 into a passageway 4!. The slip head 6 is provided with a passageway 420cmmunicating with the interior of the well casing below the casing packing element and with the said passageway 4l. A passageway 43 extends between the sleeve 33 and the mandrel and connects thepassageway 4| to the bore 2|.

The operation is very simple. When'the parts 4 are in their running-in position, as shown in Figures 1 and 1A, and the mandrel is lowered, the cage ll, springs 26, sleeve l0, slips 1 and slip head 6 move downwardly as a unit, so that the slips cannot engage the casing, as heretofore described. As the ,slip head 6 moves downwardly, it carries. the sleeve 36, and its shoulder 35 engages the shoulder 34 of the sleeve 33, which is directly connected to the upper sleeve l9, so that all of said parts move downwardly as a unit. The valve 3 is prevented from moving towards the valve seat I 8, and the valve ring 5 is prevented from" moving towards its seat 22, so that the said valves are positively maintained open and well fluid can by-pass between the outer periphery of the packer 39 and the well casing as well as upwardly through the by-pass 43, so that ample passageways are provided so that the well fluid can by-pass the casing packing element when the parts are being lowered into the well. When it is desired to set the packer, the mandrel is raised slightly so as to lift the pin I2 from the Valley 30, and it' is then rotated to the right, as viewed in Figure 1A, so as to clear the lower portion of the slot l3. The mandrel is then lowered into the position shown in Figure 2A. The cage ll, being no longer pulled downwardly by the pin I2, is held stationary by thesprin gs 26 engaging the Well casing. As the mandrelis moved downwardly, after the pin I2 is released from the slot l3, the valve ring 5 would engage its seat 22 and further downward movement of the packer would compress the elastic sleeve packing element 4, sealing the bore 2| and the valve 3 would engage its valve seat IS. The cage ll would riseupwardly relative to the sleeve Ill, because of the downward movement of the sleeve Iii, and the slips would be expanded into engagement with the casing, and the casing packing element 39 would be expanded intosealing engagement with the casing, so that all by-passes between the casing packing element and the mandrel, andbetween the casing packing element and the casing, would be sealed. Th parts would now be in the position shown in Figures 2 and 2A.

When it is desired to remove the control head packer from the well, the mandrel is lifted so that the recovery shoulder 8 engages the shoulder 9 of the sleeve l3, thereby-positively elevating the slip head 3 and retracting the slips 1 from engagement with the well casing. The shoulder 3| of the sleeve 10 now engages the shoulder- 32 of the cage H, to which is attached the springs 23, so that the springs and cage ll thereafter move upwardly with the mandrel. The valve 3 moves away from its valve seat '3 and the valve ring 3 moves away from its seat 22 thereby opening the by-pass extending from the bore 2i through the passageways 43 and 4| and through the passageways 40 and 42, so that fluid above the packer need not be lifted. As the slip head 6 moves upwardly, it, of course, moves the sleeve 33 and lower ring 38 upwardly so that the entire assembly can be moved to the surface of the well, while the fluid above the packer can by-pass downwardly around the sleeve. Attention, in particular, is called to the fact that the mandrel I is simply a, plain piece of pipe, except for the small shoulder 23 thereon, and is provided with screw threads at each end. If the operator desires to shorten the distance between the valve 3 and the valve seat l8, all that it is necessary for him to do is to unscrew the mandrel I and insert a shorter one. These mandrels can be very inexpensively manufactured and nothing would have to be changed except the mandrel. Of course, if he desired for it to be a longer distance between the valve 3 and its valve seat l8, he would insert a longer mandrel. Therefore, the operator, by providing himself with various lengths of inexpensive mandrels, can quickly change the extent of opening of the valve. In all other forms of mandrels known to us, there is a recovery shoulder on the mandrel, but our mandrel has no recovery shoulder thereon. The recovery shoulder, instead, is the shoulder 8 of the gudgeon coupling and recovery ring 2.

Having now described our invention, we claim:

1. In combination with a tubing, a mandrel connected in the tubing, a casing packing element, a sleeve slidable on the mandrel and forming a part of a setting means for the casing packing element, and a recovery ring detachably secured to the mandrel and adapted to engage a shoulder on the sleeve when the mandrel is raised while the packing element is in set position.

2. In combination with a tubing, a mandrel connected in the tubing, a casing packing element, there being a by-pass between the mandrel and packer, a, valve to open or close said by-pass, a sleeve slidable on the mandrel and forming a part of a setting means for the casing packing element, and a recovery ring detachably secured to the mandrel and adapted to engage a shoulder on the sleeve when the mandrel is raised after the packing element has been set.

3. In combination with a well tubing adapted to be lowered into a well casing, a packer comprising a mandrel connected in the tubing, a casing packing element, a sleeve slidable on the mandrel and forming a part of a setting means for the casing packing element, a cage slidable on the sleeve, casing engaging springs carried by said cage, said cage being provided with a bayonette slot, a recovery ring secured to the lower portion of said mandrel and provided with a recovery shoulder and a gudgeon pin, said gudgeon pin serving as a means to move the cage and springs downwardly with the tubing as it is lowered when the said gudgeon pin is in the valley of the bayonette slot, said shoulder being adapted to engage the lower end of the sleeve and raise the same when the tubing is raised.

4. In combination with a tubing string adapted to be lowered and set in a well casing, a mandrel in said tubing string, a casing packing element on said mandrel, a valve on said mandrel to open or close a by-pass between said mandrel and easing packing element, a recovery sleeve slidable on said mandrel, a slip head connected to the recovery sleeve, slips slidable on the slip head to engage or disengage the casing, whereby the sleeve is held stationary relative to the well casing so that the casing packing element is set when the slips engage the casing and the tubing is lowered, a cage slidable on the sleeve: and provided with casing engaging springs, reins connecting said slips to said cage, a coupling attached to the lower end of the mandrel, a gudgeon pin and a recovery shoulder forming a part of said coupling, said cage being provided with a bayonette slot to receive the gudgeon pin and serve as a means to force the cage downwardly when the mandrel is lowered, contacting shoulders on the sleeve and cage to pull the sleeve downwardly when the mandrel and cage are lowered, the recovery shoulder on the coupling engaging the lower end of the sleeve and raising said sleeve when the mandrel is raised after the casing packing element is set.

RAYMOND G. TAYLOR, JR. DONALD B. HOOSER. 

